# Houlihan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/houlihan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,958 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,365 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 78,005 people |
| Change since 2000 | -2.0% (4,040 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Holahan, Holihan, Holohan, Hoolahan, Hoolihan, Houlahan, Hulahan, Hulihan, Hoolan |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Ó hUallacháin (“descendant of Uallachán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive of uallach (“proud, arrogant”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Houlihan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Houlihan in the United States.

## People named Houlihan

- Shelby Houlihan, American middle- and long-distance runner

## Similar surnames

Hulin, Hollan, Holan, Holm, Helm, Hollon, Hallam, Hollen, Hulme, Hallum, Hillen, Holen.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.